Moving

We're FINALLY moving, and I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the move.

Biggest Moving Tip:
Number every box, label the contents of every box, and copy both the number and contents into a notebook. I am ridiculously organized about packing. I have a plethora of blue paper left over from our wedding, and each box has a blue paper taped to it with the number and contents written on it. This makes it easier to read, and really differentiates the current contents from the previous contents as most of the boxes were used before in moves made by either us, or our parents.

It is hard to move with a baby getting into everything at the same time. If you're a stay at home parent, it is invaluable to have your spouse take a week off to help pack. B has been carting boxes upstairs to the garage and also just keeping G out of my hair so that I can get stuff done. Last week G figured out how to climb boxes which would have made things a nightmare for me if I was alone.

Not much else to say. I probably won't update until we get internet in the new place. Hopefully I'll post pics of the new apartment and my progress in decorating and organizing it. It should be a lot of fun! I'm also planning on FINALLY trying all those recipes I Pinned, so we'll see how that goes too.

A Rant

No one has directly spoken to me, but whenever a post pops up in my news feed about breastfeeding (I have a FB friend who is very pro-breast feeding) it honestly hurts my feelings. I'm not against breast feeding, not even a little bit. I say do it for as long as you want/can because it really is good for the kiddo. But all too often, breast feeding moms are ridiculously smug about it. And when posts where women brag about how long they fed their little ones pop up on facebook, it hurts me because even though none of these ladies are talking to me, they're inadvertently rubbing it into my face that I couldn't keep it up so somehow I'm not as good at being a mother.

I absolutely know with all my heart that THIS IS NOT TRUE. I'm a great mom. I keep Ginny healthy, and she's progressing perfectly. She's happy and I'm happy. And every other minute of the day when I don't see one of those posts, I am absolutely fine. No thoughts about breast feeding and my 'failure' to keep it up. I didn't fail. My body just couldn't do it, and that's nobody's fault. It happens to so many ladies all over the place. But when I see that breast feeding post, in that moment I feel terrible and I hate it.

What can I do about it? Nothing. Nor do I want to. So instead I come over here and rant about it for a couple minutes and when I am done, I'll finish my glass of water and go snuggle my husband.

My Happy Baby

G is one of the happiest babies I’ve ever met. She is always ready to shoot you a smile, and she loves being picked up and played with. She isn’t fussy – obviously with the exceptions of being overtired or hungry – and she doesn’t cry too often. She is a happy, happy baby.

I mention this, because she has a huge reason to be unhappy. G has eczema pretty bad, and has had it so since she was a few months old. It is the worst on her face, scalp and left leg. On her face, it looks painful and raw and is extremely rough to the touch. Her forehead is constantly covered in scratches that bleed and mar her beautiful little face.

At night we have to swaddle her tightly so that her arms aren’t free – which doesn’t work because she’s a wiggle-worm. She wakes herself up in the night because her face is super itchy and she is desperate to scratch it, which usually means that she ends up knocking her soother out and she becomes too frustrated to get it back. It’s hard watching her struggle, and it’s hard to keep from scratching for her.

We were finally able to get to the doctor and he prescribed some cream. Know what? That NIGHT her eczema was fading already. She has been sleeping a little better since starting treatment with that cream. A week later and her skin is CLEAR for the first time in months. I’d grown so used to the giant eczema patches on her face that seeing her beautiful skin was surreal – it looks airbrushed! She’s such a pretty baby and I’m so utterly beyond proud of her for staying completely happy despite the frantic scratching and discomfort and bleeding.

I love my happy baby so much. She makes every day just that much better with her giggles (which are rare but always ALWAYS incredibly uplifting) and her cheeky smile and those big blue eyes that are frequently full of mischief. I love that she reaches for me and wants to sit on my lap or climb on me. I love her so much and I’m proud to be her Mama.

Different Things

This post is kind of going to be all over the place because my mind is jumbled and I just wanna post something!

We're back at home in MJ, and I am beginning to settle into my life as a house wife. We are planning on moving as soon as we can, but for the near future at least this is home. Since day one here I have been working hard to baby proof everything (G is a roller!), rearrange the furniture, and just do some general tidying. So far, things are looking great (or as great as they can in this ugly cave we live in with limited furniture). I'm getting organized and it feels good.

I can't wait for other friends to start having babies, because I am saving all of G's stuff. There are a few things I'll keep for myself for sentimental reasons, but most of it can be distributed. In addition to clothing, we also have a car seat for someone to take if they want it (my aunt gave us the next size up car seat that will do G til she's 50lbs - it belonged to one of her twins), a breast pump, a Snugli, and I would absolutely lend out the Baby Bullet.

The Baby Bullet. SO MUCH FUN. I love making the baby food myself. G loves my sweet potatoes way more than the store bought stuff. I can't wait til the next batch cooking day so we can try some new things!

One of my favourite parts about being a housewife, is doing the laundry. I've never enjoyed doing laundry, but lately it's been fun. I love sitting on the couch and folding everything out on the coffee table while watching Netflix. Today I put G on the couch behind me and gave her some toys to play with while I sorted her laundry. Just as I was finishing, I felt a little hand tugging on the back of my hoodie and I turned around to be greeted with a big smile and blue eyes. She just wanted a hug.

G is getting to be so much more fun (if that's possible). She sits independantly and the other day managed to stand up on her own! She was holding onto something, but it's still a HUGE moment for us. She's rolling all over the place and I've had to vacuum several times since getting back already. She has favourite toys, and is particular about different things. Another cute story: Naptime today, I heard her make a noise so I went to check on her and she was just chilling in bed with one arm behind her head, staring at her soother. I made a little noise and she turned to look at me and just beamed. Her smile is so big when she sees us after waking up. It really just melts my heart. So I picked her up and smooched her and we went to play and do laundry.

Baby Mum Mums. They're little rice cookie/cracker things and G LOVES them. Warning though: the box says they are not messy and that is a lie. They get everywhere! Mostly in her mouth, but little bits end up embedded in the carpet or her bib and stick to skin like the dickens. They are such a great snack for her though. It's great to be able to hand her something to eat while we eat dinner, to keep her busy.

I guess that's it for now. Not sure when I'll update again, as I'm pretty busy with getting the house into shape at the moment and in my downtime, I'm honestly just playing video games, haha. I have a post about traveling with a baby in the works, so hopefully I can get that done pretty soon and get it to you!

For now, here are a few recent photos:

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day, and I've done so for my entire life - single or otherwise. I have never once felt any Valentine's Day related sadness. To me it was never 'Single Awareness Day'. It's not just a Hallmark holiday, made to shovel money into the mouths of rich people.

When I was single, it was a day where my Mom and Dad bought me chocolate. It was a day when maybe I'd pop in a romance movie and cry over the gushiness. I didn't feel sad. Sure, of course I wished I had a boyfriend, but I knew that one day I'd probably have one.

When B and I got together, Valentine's Day became just a good day to remind each other of our mutual love. Our first year he bought me flowers, but I killed them so the next year he bought me a 4ft tall fake flower that I still have to this day. One year after we got married I made him a sexy coupon book. We usually get chocolate for one another and just remember to have fun. We're the type who are romantic all year round, so Valentine's Day is just an extra extra excuse to be a bit fancy.

Now, with G, Valentine's Day is even more special to us. On February 14th, 2012, we heard G's heartbeat for the very first time. That was our special event for that day, and we couldn't have done anything that would have made that day better that it already was. We were having a baby! A beautiful baby girl, though we didn't know it at the time. B and I were talking the other day, and we kind of decided that in our house, Valentine's Day would be more of a family day. We plan on spending February 14th this year doing something all together, just the three of us. We're hoping that by doing this year after year, perhaps G will grow up like I did: seeing Valentine's Day as a fun day where your mommy and daddy give you chocolate and you can just have fun. I don't want my daughter to be depressed because she's single. To me it's not a day of malice, which is how so many single people see it, but just a day to love things.

How do you spend your Valentine's Day?

New Look

FINALLY changed my background. I'd been meaning to do so since I began this darn thing, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. The image is one that I drew myself. I cropped it, changed the colour with the computer and here it is. I also use it as the background on my tumblr: http://shortonheight.tumblr.com/

Anyways, just mentioning how pretty the background is now, if I do say so myself.

Also, G is sitting by herself, never stops talking, and loves to shriek with happiness allllll day long. I frequently have a headache these days, but she's so darn cute that I don't really mind.

Clean

I'm just going to say it: I am a recovering hoarder.

If you ever visited our apartment in Saskatoon, you will know that I am not a neat freak. I had clutter everywhere. But you know what? That was not the worst I've been, by far.

As a teenager, I became incredibly messy. My room never had a floor and I'm not exaggerating. There would be a small footpath leading to my bed and that was it. Clothes and old toys and books and magazines would be strewn everywhere. My mom was constantly at me to tidy up and I would do it halfheartedly, but really I just didn't care. If you've been to the place we lived in Maple Creek, you would know that I had two huge closets in my bedroom. And you know what? They were both FULL of junk. Junk piled upon junk, spilling out of the doors. My friend A would come over pretty frequently and was constantly rolling her eyes at me and always tried to encourage me to do better. And maybe I would have done better if my life in MC hadn't been so bloody difficult. The ages of 11-17 were dark years for me and maybe that contributed to some of my problems.

We moved to GP and I was optimistic. New room, new start. I unpacked and organized all my things and my room looked really great. It looked like the room of a responsible 18 year old woman, just beginning her journey into adulthood and wanting to be taken more seriously by her parents. But then I couldn't get a job. And my dark days returned, though to a much lesser extant than when I was in MC (having the love of my life around helped considerably). My room began to clutter and once more my floor disappeared.

Then I did get a job, at the Thrift Store. This did NOT help. I had a staff 50% discount which killed me. My room rapidly filled with books, books, books! And mountains of clothes. I was honestly addicted. Every single day of work, I came home with a full bag of stuff. It was bad. The mess in my room grew. I was constantly tripping over things. When the phone rang, I had to maneuver over piles of stuff that were near 2 feet high. I'm not exaggerating! That is how bad it was. There was not a single empty surface in that bedroom. Frankly, it was embarrassing. I'm ashamed of the way I was. When I moved from GP to SK, I purged. Garbage bag after garbage bag after garbage bag went out my door. Most things were donated BACK to the Thrift Store. I couldn't believe what I had let myself become.

Things were better in Saskatoon, but I was just recovering from this previous life of being an absolute slob. It was hard to get out of the old habits, and although my apartment was less than pristine, I was proud of my progress. It was still hard to have people over sometimes, knowing they'd know I was messy, but that's who I was. They were my friends and I knew they would still be my friends.

Having G has changed me for the better. I now WANT to be tidy, and it doesn't take as much effort. I need a clean floor so that G can roll around and be safe and comfortable. I need a clean floor for myself, as well. My stress level decreases when my home is tidy and that is definitely a good thing because in MJ I am constantly stressed.

When we move back to Saskatoon, I will do even better. I will live in a home that looks like it belongs to an adult couple with a baby, not a home that looks like it belongs to frat boys. I am certain that I can do this.

I can be tidy and I WILL be tidy.